NOTES ON HONG KONG LIBRARIES
57
12th, 1852. This records a rearrangement of the books, and since “proper classification was out of the question” they were arranged according to size, so as to give a uniformity of appearance. A printed catalogue was produced under the direction of Mr. W. F. Bevan, assisted by Mr. A. Dixson; the latter was Secretary of the Library for the year reported, and was re-elected for 1852-53. There is no record of the total number of books, but during the year 75 titles in 133 volumes were added; the number of members rose from 63 to 66—against 19 new members, 10 had left the Colony, 1 died, and 5 withdrawn. The annual accounts3 balanced at $1,755.02, and the cash in hand at the end of the year was $37.11. The largest item of expenditure was "Books, periodicals, and newspapers from England, $675.83." This did not include carriage, since it is stated that the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. kindly conveyed the monthly parcels free of charge. Rent of premises accounted for $355.00.
There had apparently been some criticism of the inaccessibility of the premises. Their exact location has not been ascertained, but an advertisement of 1852 gives Queen's Road as the address, whereas another in 1867 gives Wyndham Street. Whether the change was made in 1852 is not clear, but the proposed new premises would, according to the Committee's report, cost an additional $120 p.a. for rent. A search for subsequent annual reports should throw further light on this question of location. It would also be interesting if a copy of the printed catalogue of 1852 could be found.
Also in 1852, Dixson's Hongkong Recorder contains at least three advertisements relating to the Victoria Library. The first gives notice of a meeting of the committee to be held at 8 p.m. on 21st June, for the purpose of "the selection of Books to be ordered by the next mail." The advertisement goes on to say that the monthly package by the last mail, which had been mislaid on board the P. & O. Co.'s receiving ship, had since been found, and as well as the usual magazines, certain books had arrived, including Gutzlaff's Life of Taou-kwang. It seems that there were at this time quite frequent purchases of books, since another notice in the Hongkong Recorder of 9th July announced the arrival of a further consignment, which included Davis's China during the War and since the Peace and Fortune's Tea Districts of China and India.